Now that the Browns have officially released backhanded flip pass specialist Brandon “I won’t do that anymore” Weeden less than two years after drafting him 53 picks before the Seahawks took Russell Wilson and 66 picks before the Eagles took Nick Foles, it raises the obvious question:
How much longer until the Indians’ opening day?
Closing the book on Weeden — a book that never should have been opened — also raises one other pertinent question: was the decision to draft Weeden made one, two, or three regimes ago? They all kind of run together, know what I mean?
To their credit, the Browns read the graffiti on the wall and got rid of Weeden now, while he still had no value. Because let’s face it, he’s 30 years old. How many more years of backhand flips does he have left?
What was interesting, in a morbid sort of way, about the Weeden release is that roughly 20 minutes after releasing him, the Browns also released Jason Campbell, whose resume now includes perhaps the most chilling line in the history of quarterback resumes: “Backed up Brandon Weeden.”
Weeden and Campbell, for those snoring at home, constituted the Browns’ entire quarterback stable during their latest train wreck season. Brian Hoyer played a couple of games, but Weeden and Campbell took about 98 percent of the snaps.
So what we have here is a team simply releasing the two main quarterbacks on its roster. Not trading them for some other commodities, mind you, but just outright releasing them. Your basic, “go on, get out of here.”
Has any other NFL team ever just gotten rid of their top two quarterbacks like this? In the span of 20 minutes? Has something like this ever happened before? And has a fan base ever reacted to it with such blasé indifference as did the rabid members of Dawg Pound Nation, who said, “That’s fine. We can live with that.”
Say this for the Browns: They may have never been to the Super Bowl, but since they allegedly re-entered the league in 1999. ... oh, the stuff we’ve seen.
Speaking of stuff, since 1999, the Browns have drafted three quarterbacks in the first round: Tim Couch, Brady Quinn and Weeden. Those three quarterbacks started a combined 91 games for the Browns, and the Browns’ record in those games was 30-61.
With the Browns, Couch had a quarterback rating of 75.1 with 64 touchdown passes and 67 interceptions. Quinn had a 66.8 quarterback rating with 10 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. Weeden had a 71.8 quarterback rating, with 23 touchdown passes and 26 interceptions.
So when it comes to things the Browns don’t do very well, they have historically been particularly inept at finding the right guy to play the most important position in the game. The position at which, if you have nobody, you are a nobody. You have no chance to win. Period. None.
Case in point: In games started by Weeden or Campbell in 2013, the Browns’ record was 1-13.
All of which — gulp! — brings us to the fast-approaching 2014 NFL draft, when the Browns have another first round pick, a very high one, as a matter of fact, and they have a critical need at quarterback.
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
Football meteorologists would call this a quarterback watch, meaning conditions are right for the Browns to select a quarterback with their first pick in the draft.
Worse yet, there are a handful of quarterbacks who could potentially go in the first round.
Worse yet than worse yet: The Browns are probably going to select one of them. You know, like they selected Couch in 1999, Quinn in 2007 and Weeden in 2012.
So it might be time to grab the kids and head down into the storm cellar until this thing blows over. Because when the Browns go looking for quarterbacks, FEMA isn’t far behind.
Somewhere there is a Browns Big Board, on which sit names such as Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr, A.J. McCarron, Jimmy Garoppolo, etc.
Somewhere there are Browns deep thinkers, sorting through the combine data, game tapes, scouting reports, background checks, speed, strength and size measurables, intangibles factors and girlfriend hotness.
All of it leading up to draft day, when Commissioner Roger “Man Hug” Goodell walks to the microphone with a note card in his hand and announces, “With the fourth pick in the 2014 NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns select. ...”
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
-- A week after former Texas Ranger current Detroit Tiger Ian Kinsler called Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels “a sleazeball” and said he hopes the Rangers go 0-162 this season, former Cubs and current Brewers pitcher Matt Garza said of his former team: “I’m going to try to kick their teeth in.”
Nothing like some good old fashioned full-contact baseball.
-- ESPN has announced that Brent Musberger will be the lead announcer on the new SEC Network, which launches in August.
Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
-- Phil Jackson is about to become the next president of the New York Knicks, none of whom every saw a shot they didn’t like. At the top of Jackson’s to-do list: petition the league to adopt a rules change making it legal to have three basketballs in play simultaneously.
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
@jitribeinsider

Weak of the week
ESPN.com ran a photo of an obviously overly rabid fan of the currently unranked Kentucky basketball team who has gotten a tattoo that features the Kentucky logo and the words “2014 National Champions”.
Cute. But also weak. Very weak.